Basics of optimism
From Seligman's Learned Optimism
Basically, the optimist is different than the pessimist in three vectors:
- pervasiveness - optimists view problems as not indicative of the entire situation, but local. i.e. a friend criticizing you is not indicative of his entire attitude toward you, but an individual critique.
- permanence - pessimists think that problems are here to stay, while as optimism knows that problems, like everything else, are transient.
- personal - optimists recognize their proper influence on events, and don't assume that all bad things happening to them are their fault. pessimists tend to blame themselves.
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The mind is software, and we are merely programmers. Where is the manual, though? Here is a site for people not only interested in self-help, but also the mechanics behind it.
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